Is Howard K Stern Responsible For Anna Nicole's Death?
By now I'm sure you all have read about how Howard K Stern and two doctors were arrested on a variety of felony counts all having to do with making sure Anna Nicole Smith was kept fully medicated at all times. I understand the two doctors being arrested. They obviously knew she was addicted to pills, and yet they kept prescribing them despite there being no medical need.
What about Howard K? I don't like him and never will, but should he also be arrested for this? Sure, he helped Anna get the drugs, and had the doctors come up with fake names, but there are LOTS of celebrities who get prescriptions in fakes names, or names of family, or even in the names of their doctors. Paris should have thought about doing that. I'm not sure how common it is in the rest of the country, but out here, I don't blink when I hear about some manager who has 20 different prescriptions and none of them are for him. The game then is trying to figure out which of his clients belong to which prescription.
What I am interested in knowing, and what this case will probably not ever bring to light is if Howard controlled Anna with the drugs? Did she know what she was taking? Did he get her addicted to the drugs so she would be dependent on him? Was it because of Howard that her son got addicted and ultimately died? I would like to see someone be held responsible for her son's death. As for Anna's death, if she knew what she was doing, then why should the person who brought her the drugs be held responsible for her death. Howard didn't prescribe the drugs. He found doctors who would be willing to use fake names and who weren't ethical, but ultimately it was Anna who took the pills and made the decision to keep taking them.
I understand the crime Howard K committed. I understand why he was charged, and to me anyway, it is pretty clear that he committed the crimes he has been alleged to have committed. I'm just wondering if he is responsible for Anna's death by his actions. If you want to read the entire 18 page complaint, click here.
31 comments:
i'm venturing they were both addicts at the time. all three if you count Daniel.
I think Howard needs to be held accountable, on some level. At the very least, he was her enabler. When I think of the deal he made with Entertainment Tonight, in the months prior to her death, which showed her absolutely wasted, where she could barely stand, let alone speak, it's beyond shameful.
He was a hanger-on who thought he hit pay-dirt, but turned out to be a sycophant. He seemed to be the only "normal" one around, and I use that term loosely, and if not for him procuring all those drugs, I'm sure her son Daniel would be alive today.
I think it is more than a coincidence that Anna died so soon after her son. I'm not sure who is responsible for it, but I am sure he played a hand in it. Not sure if he ment for her to die though.
I think that perhaps he and Sam Lufti are cut from the same cloth. They took some basically stupid women and drugged them up so they could control them and ride the coattails of their fame.
The only difference is that Britney Spears actually had someone who gave a dang about her and took control of that mess. Anna Nicole's creepy family has proved over the last few years how absolutely disgusting they are.
Oh dear not this again.....now i'll have to boycott Entertainment tonight again with its disgusting coverage of all things Anna Nicole. I thought we were done with this f8ckery 2 years ago
What if... he loved her so much he couldn't stand seeing her in the misery of withdrawal?
I have no idea, no opinion on the type of man he is, enabler, evil money grabber, confused and lost, who knows.
I have however witnessed a doting husband move heaven and earth to get his wife migraine meds, seeing his wife a vomiting pale crying mess for a couple of days nearly drove him insane because he couldn't do something, help her, ease the pain.
I'm not sure he would organise drugs for other purposes, but I would imagine someone going cold turkey could make even the strongest tough love sort of person into an enabler, even if it is only in thought and not action.
Can't believe I am writing this, I am anti that lifestyle but it has made me think.
what if..
Fuck that shit
What ever happened to being responsible for one's own actions?!?
Just because you're in a room with a pile of coke, hookers, pills, and booze doesn't mean you have to indulge in any of it.
She made Howie get her the drugs, and if he didn't, she would have fired him and got another lackey to do it.
Tired of people making up excuses for their own fucking actions
ANS's son was not a drug addict. He was on anti-depressants. He flew to the Bahama's to visit his mom and new sis, and ends up dead in a few hours. I think HKS drugged his drink and he overdosed. Remember, ANS's son did not like HKS.
I agree with Ror, too. There is an ultimate responsibility in all of us.
It will be interesting to see if Howard trashes Anna Nicole in this process.
Ms Cool - Of course he will. He'd throw his own mother under a bus to save himself. What is it with all these low lifes? Can't we just round them up and send them...wait we're not Hitler. Nevermind...
There must be evidence to show HKS was complicit in the illegal supply of drugs, or he wouldn't be charged. Well done that investigator for not letting the case drop.
Right, Ror, she should totally, post mortem, take responsibility for her actions.
How the hell do YOU know that she didn't get hooked not of her own free will? Sam Lufti admitted to crushing pills into Britney's food...what, Howard isn't smart enough to do that?
And even if she DID say "Get me drugs or I'll fire you." its still HIS personal responsiblity to WALK AWAY.
Whether or not he's liable and yes, ANS should be held accountable as well, HK is one creepy ass guy.
Since all of this happened in the Bahamas, I'm surprised they managed to file charges. I'm glad, though. I also wonder if that baby girl was born with drugs in her system, and I think that older son's death wasn't accidental.
Maybe in some private moment Vicki showed a sliver of intelligence.
All I have ever seen in ANY media is 'Anna Nicole' being stupid stupid stupid.
Started stripping and got a boob job(s). She was putty in Howard's hands.
Ditto for the son.Yes they were both of legal age.
But so dumb.
Howard's the one who convinced her to dispose of Birkhead.Big mistake.
Is it OK to manipulate stupid people to the point of death? Let the courts decide.
If she was physically/sexually abused or taken advantage of, we wouldn't be trying to blame the victim. How does it make her less of a victim when its emotional/mental abuse?
Howard used her for his own means. He took advantage of a vulnerable adult (and yes, he took advantage of the fact that she had a low IQ).
Whether she started and maintained the drug abuse, or whether he drugged her is besides the point. He was an enabler, just like that scum Sam was to Brittany. He kept people who could have helped her away from her, and did nothing to help her himself.
If he was so worried/upset about the drug use, he could have put her in rehab, or simply walked away from the situation. He did neither.
It benefited him to have her doped up, and he obviously ensured that she stayed drugged. He is accountable for her death (and probably the death of her son - that whole thing seemed shady to me).
I always thought there was something very dysfunctional and strange about that guy...and I'm pretty sure that if he is found guilty of these things, then Larry Birkhead is not entirely innocent either.
Remember when Anna Nicoles diary came out and all the things she wrote about Howard in it? Yeah, didn't sound like love to me...
mikey-he had methodone in his system, you don't take that for a common cold.
jax - didn't HKS have a lot of meth for Nicole? Couldn't he have slipped some in his drink? IIRC there really wasn't a large amount of anything in his system but possibly the combination. Seems like a low threshold; not common among addicts.
Exactly StiffKittens, exactly. I always assumed that she was in a constant state of being drugged in order to keep her pliant and controllable. Just like it's always seemed to me that she had to have been seriously sexually abused at a very young leaving her "stuck" at roughly the age that it happened... It's all very sad to me and I'm glad that Howard is finally going to be held accountable.
"mikey-he had methodone in his system, you don't take that for a common cold."
I'VE BEEN DUPED!!!
Anonymous - very good point about the sexual abuse.
Any childhood trama commonly results in the victim reverting to a child-like state if they don't work through it (i'm guessing Mommy Dearest swept it under the carpet if she knew about it).
If that was the case for ANS (and the choice of appearance, personality, jobs and lifestyle she made/had points to sexual abuse) then it explains why she was so vulnerable - and so open to attack.
I hope everything comes out into the open, and the public can know what despicable people were in her life. It'll shame those that deserve it, and maybe let ANS have some dignity back.
i'm all for people talking responsibility for their actions as was stated earlier. ans should have been responsibile for getting herself addicted, just as hks should be accountable for keeping her addicted to them and having them supplied for her-regardless if she would have fired him or gotten them through someone else. so to answer your question, enty... yes. i think he's responsible for both her and her sons death.
also, someone brought up not being able to handle the withdrawl process. i've witnessed numerous people od and withdrawl from opiate addictions (not at the same time, obviously) and you know what? you deal with it because you care about them for the long term. the person going through it is suffering and all you can do is help take care of them and help them through. you know they're doing the right thing and that it makes them better in the end, so you stand up for them and do what you can to help, but you don't cave in to their temporary pain no matter how bad it gets. and if someone is withdrawling properly (usually with non-opiate meds or under a doctors care), the entire process (as terrible as it is for them) can be over with in 24-48 hours. yeah, there's longer lasting symptoms to be addressed, but that's a whole other post.
sorry for the rant, but i can't stand the idea of enabling a loved one's addiction that can *kill* them, just cuz YOU can't stand to see them suffer in the short term. you have to be the responsible thinker for them otherwise they may never kick the habit. i wont stand by and watch a friend die like that. i'd rather see them in pain from withdrawls than in a bodybag.
stiffkittens said... Whether she started and maintained the drug abuse, or whether he drugged her is besides the point. He was an enabler, just like that scum Sam was to Brittany. He kept people who could have helped her away from her, and did nothing to help her himself.
If he was so worried/upset about the drug use, he could have put her in rehab, or simply walked away from the situation. He did neither.
It benefited him to have her doped up, and he obviously ensured that she stayed drugged. He is accountable for her death (and probably the death of her son - that whole thing seemed shady to me).
ITA stiffkittens!
Don't forget that Daniel feared his mother was being kept in a drugged state and came close to hiring a private detective to investigate.
Wasn't Anna heard saying "You did this!" to Howard when Daniel died?
HKS should be glad I'm not the judge!
Just when I thought we may have seen the last of Larry Birkhead. I expect him to be doing paid interviews all over again.
@lutefisk I'm sure he will. I'm sure he'll have plenty to say to everyone about HKS. For the right price.
Bad Fish--that was exactly my point. He will start parading that poor little girl around again any minute.
i think howard is indirectly responsible for both daniel and anna's deaths. she was his perfect opportunity. it's hard to say which came first the chicken or the egg, but she was a drug addict and a miserable shrew who alienated everyone and as long as he could keep her a) in a perpetual drugged haze and b) isolated from her family and any true friends or potential romantic interests who might have her best interest at heart, he could run the show and manipulate her as he saw fit and naturally, the two things kept feeding each other, the more drugged out she was, the more she alienated people and the the more out of control she became and the more he could control her life. it was in his best interest to keep her in a fog so he could have 100% control. he figured that if he gained complete control of her, when she eventually came into her fortune, he would also have control of that, and be able to take advantage of her. however, the danger of drug addicts is, when they do so many drugs, accidents are likely to happen. i don't think he counted on things getting out of control. he counted on anna and her son being easily manipulated doped up dummies, but he didn't anticipate her son od'ing. and then i think she did herself in because she just couldn't take the pain. she might not have done it deliberately but she took so many pills, she didn't care if she died. so, while howard didn't write the prescriptions, he orchestrated, or managed the environment/situation to enable them to have access to all the pills they needed to keep them in that drugged up state which ultimately led to both of their deaths. they wouldn't have been organized enough to obtain that many pills.
He is totally responsible, regardless of his intentions. I hope he and the doctors who made the scripts all get convicted.
It occurred to me this weekend that, if these men who provided the medications to Anna Nicole were closer to the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder, they would have already been charged, tried and convicted.
We had a case here last year where a guy was convicted of drug-induced homicide and sentenced to 14 years in prison after he helped his girlfriend inject a lethal dose of heroin.
He wasn't a dealer or any kind, nor did he have any prior record of crimes. He said during the trial that he didn't realize that amount would be too much for her and he didn't realize it would kill her. Still, because of his negligence, he will spend the next several years in prison.
The only difference in this case is that the accused have enough money to hire better lawyers.
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